Dual latch



March l, 1960 H. KRAUsE ETAL 2,926,942

DUAL LATCH Filed Feb. 25, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet l Ike/e7? fans jzfererz Kfm/zes@ Car? J7. ,5196i y Par'er If' Ca2/fer March l, 1960 H. KRAUsE ETAL DUAL LATCH 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 25, 1956 March 1, 1960 H. KRAUSE ETAL 2,926,942

DUAL LATCH Filed Feb. 25, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 March 1, 1960 H. KRAUsE ETAL 2,926,942

DUAL LATCH Filed Feb. 25, 1956 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 w W 5 t J6 S ,Wm we @m Q e a Udala@ e5 r IML@ e r W C @y United States Patent() DUAL LATCH Application February 23, 1956, Serial No. 567,333

' 8 Claims. (Cl. 292-11) Y This invention relates to hood `latches and in particular `to hood latches usable with automobiles and the like.

f One purpose of the invention is to provide a hood -latch incorporating a plunger assembly when latch elements are carried by the plunger.

Another purpose is to provide a hood latch structure wherein a plurality of movable latch elements are cooperatively arranged.

Another purpose is to provide a hood latch structure wherein forces tending to separate the latched elements are employed to retain the parts in latched position.

Another purpose is to provide a hood latch structure wherein the elements to be latched may be securely and safely held in the desired latching engagement at a plurality of positions thereof.

.'Other purposes will appear from time to time in the course of the specification and claims. ,i We illustrate our invention more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings whereinp, Figure 1 is a side view illustrating our invention in its installed position,

Figure 2 is a view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1 and on an enlarged scale, v

p Figure 3 is aview taken on the line 3--3 of Figure 1 on an enlarged scale,

l Figure 4 is a detail view illustrating a portion of the structure illustrated in Figure 2,

r. 4l CC a generally centrally positioned somewhat rectangular keeper assembly receiving` aperture 10 formed therein. 'I'he material of the plate 6 bounding the aperture 10 may be downwardly and inwardly bent upon itself as indicated generally at 11 to provide a rounded edge about the aperture 10 and particularly about three sides thereof. Pivotally mountedifor rotation along a portion of the lower face of the plate 6 as at 12,` is a manually operable main latch or restraining member 13. The member 13 may have a downwardly inclined outwardly extending handle portion 14 having the manually operable element 15 at its outer end. Extending beyond the pivot 12 in the opposite direction from the portion 14 is a mainv latch engaging or covering portion 16. Depending from the portion 16 of the member 13 is an ear 17 to which one end of a spring member 18 may be connected. The opposite end of the spring member .18 may be secured to an edge portion of the plate 6 as indicated generally in the right hand portion of Figure 3 to urge the member 13 toward counterclockfwise rotation, as the parts are shown in Figure 3, and thus toward latching position.

As best seen in Figure 3, the aperture 10 and portion 16 of the member 13 overlap so that a substantial portion of the member 13, when in latching position, underlies a substantial portion of the aperture 10.

The keeper or plunger assembly 8 may comprise a -generally elongated channel-like member or plunger 20 having a generally flat side-wall 21 and a pair of parallel end walls 22, 23 extendingalong the longitudinal edges thereof. The plunger 20 may have outwardly extending iianges 24, 24a at its upper edge to provide for attach- Figure 5 is a view taken on the line 5 5 ofAFigureill,

, Figure 8 is a view taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 7,

and

Figure 9 is a view taken on the line 9 9 of Figure 8.

Like parts are indicated by like symbols throughout the specification and drawings. Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figure 1, the numeral 1 generally indicates the forward portion of a vehicle which may for example be an automobile. 2 indicates a closure for the vehicle portion 1. 3 indicates the grill which may for example be the common and well known open work type of structure providing spaces 4 between portions thereof through which an operator may extend a hand to release a latch structure generally indicated at Figure l by the numeral`5.

Referring now to Figure 2, it will be observed that,v

as the parts are shown in the drawings herein, an apertured latch plate 6 may be secured to the vehicle portion 1 as indicated generally at 7.l A plunger assembly generally indicated by the numeral 8 may similarly be secured to the closure 2 as indicated for example at 9. While weillustrate the plunger orkeeper assembly 8 as being installed on the member 2 and theplate 6 as being installed on the portion 1, it will be understood that these assemblies could be reversed in their installation without departing from ,the nature and scope of our invention.

' of the plunger 20.

ment to the closure 2, forexample. IThe lower portions of the walls 20, 22, 23 converge to form a generally pointed lower end 25, as the parts are shown in the drawings, for the plunger 20. Pivotally mounted within the plunger 20, as at 26, is a main latch member 27. Pivotally mountedl about the same pivot 26 is a safety latch member 28. A relatively strong spring 29 may have one end thereof secured to the pivot pin 26 and may be coiled thereabout to have its opposite end 30 in engagement with an ear 31 on the member 27 to urgethe member 27 upwardly and outwardly from the plunger 28. As best seen in Figure 4, an elliptical or elongated aperture 32 is formed in the member 27 and surrounds the pivot pin '26 to permit upward and downward movement of the member 27 along the inner surface of the wall 21 Thermember 27 has a generally arcuate camming upper edge 33 and an inwardly or angularly inclined side edge 34. An arcuate slot 35 may be formed in the body 36 of the member 27 and may have a serrated upper edge 37. The slot. 35 `surrounds a pin 3S fixed on the wal-1 21 and extending inwardly there- The 'latch plate 6,'as maybest be' seen in Figure 3, has

from between the walls 22, 23. The wall 23 of the plunger 20 may have a slot formed therein or may have a portion thereof removed as indicated generally -at 39 to permit portions of the members 27, 28 to extend outwardly therethrough and .to project beyond one end of the plunger 20. Spring 40` hasone end thereof secured to the pivot pin 26 and may be coiled about the pin 26 to have its opposite end 41 in engagement with an ear 42 on the safety latch 28 to urge the safety latch toward counterclockwise rotation, as the parts are shown in Figure 2, and thus to urge an outwardly extending hook portion 43 on the safety latch 28 toward a position extending beyond the wall 23 of the plunger 20. The safety hook portion 43 has a generally chamfered outer edge 44 which is inwardlyV directed from top to bottom, as the parts are shown in the drawings, the purpose of which will appear hereinbelow.

As best seen in Figures 4 and 5, the wall V21 of the plunger 20 may have an inwardly oiset generally rounded portion 50 extending between the walls 22, 23 topio- Patented Mar. l, 1960 vide a guiding support along which the latch member 27 may ride in the-course of its movement from and to latching position.

Referring now to Figures 7,-9, we illustra-te a variant form of'our invention. Since the latch plate and manually: operable latchl retainer and release member 13 are essentially theV same in this form of our invention, we have allocated the same numerals thereto in Figures 7-9 and `these elements are notl being further discussed. Similarly, weY have provided the same numerals for the plunger 20 and its `associated members, including the yielding means 29. It will be noted however that Figuresv 7--9V disclose the employment of a safetyv latch member generally indicated by the numeral 60 in place of the member 28 illustrated in Figures 1 6. The members 60' may be generally L-shaped in overall configuration and may comprise an elongated arm or lever portion `6l havingV at the lower end thereof an outwardly extending hook portion 62. The wall 22 of the plungerA 2.0 maybe cut or slotted as generally indicated at 63 to permit the hook 62 to extend therethrough in response to the urging of a spring 64 having one end 65 in engagement with the wall 22 as generally indicated at 66 and its opposite end in engagement with an inwardly bent ear 67 on the latch arm 61. The safety latch member 60 maybe pivotally mounted as at 6'8 to the wall 21 at a point adjacent the upper end thereof andbetween the walls 22, 23 0f the plunger v20. Extending angularly in relation to the lever portion 61 from the pivot 68 is` the manually operable lever portion 69 of the safety latch member 60. The portion 69 may extend through a slot 70 cut into an upper portion of the Wall 21 and may carry at its' outer' end a manually operable handle portion 71.

Whereas we have described and illustrated a practical and operative device, nevertheless, many changes may be made in the size, shape, number and disposition iofparts without departing Afrom the spirit of our invention. We therefore wish our description and drawings to be taken as in a lbroad sense illustrative or diagrammatic rather than as limiting us to our precise showing.

The use and operation of this invention are as follows:

The horizontal pivot latch element 13 is held in latching position, i. e. overlapping a portion of the aperture 10, by yielding means 18. As the plunger 20` enters the aperture 10, it is tapered forward and portion 215 is effective to center the plunger 2t) between the portion 16 of the member 13 and the opposed curved edge 11 of the aperture. As the plunger 20 moves further through the aperture 10, the inclined outer edge 44 of safety latch 28 impinges upon the curved inwardly directed edge 16a of the element 13 and the safety latch 28 is thereby rotated out of its latching position as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 6. As penetration of the plunger 20 continues and member 2S passes below the edge 16a, the spring 40 is effective to return the safety latch 2S to latching position as shown in Figure 2. Further penetration of the plunger 2l) through the aperture 10 causes the inclined edge 34 of the latch member 27 to impinge upon the edge 16a and thereby causes the latch member 27 to move. inwardly within the plunger 20 against the action of spring 29. Since latch member 27 is slidably as well as pivotally mounted on the wall 21 of the plunger 20j by means of an elongated slot on the member 27 surrounding the pivot 26, and since the spring 29 is arranged to urge the latch member 27 not only in clockwise direction, as the parts are shown in the drawings, but also to urge the latch member 27 in an upward direction, it will be understood that the serrations 37 are held out of engagement with the pin 38 as the plunger is penetrating the aperture and that there is consequently no resistance to movement of the latch member 27 inwardlyin response to engagement of the port-ions 16a, 34 as the plunger moves through the aperture 10. .As soon as the cam surface or edge 33 of the element 4 Y v 27 contacts the edge 16a there is created' a latched engagement between the plunger 20 and the` plate- 6. Should the plunger 20 penetrate further through the aperture 10, it will be realized that the edge 33 is simply moving further along the edge 16a and that this same latched engagement is created at all points along the edge 33.

Thereafter any force tending to separate the plunger 20 from the plate 6 or, in other words, to move the plunger 20 outwardly through the aperture 10 simply is transmitted through the edges 16a, 33-to force-the, latch-2 member 27 downwardly and thusA to engage the serrations 37 and pin 38 to lock the latch member 27 against movement inwardly toward non-latching position.

When the operator desires to release theV latch of Figures 1-6 it is necessary onlyl that the, operator grasp the handle portion 15 and that he thereafter rotates the element 13 about its pivot 12 in a clockwise direction toward the position shown in dotted lines in,Figure 3.` It will be observedA that this action moves the end portion 16out of alignment with anyv portion of the aperture 10 and provides a clear passage back through the, aperture 10 for the plunger 20 and the latch members 27, 28 which remain in latching position as the plunger withdrawn through the aperture 10.

With reference to the form of the invent-ion shown in Figures 7-9, the operation thereof is essentially that described above with relation to Figures 1-6. Since, however, the device of Figures 7-9 employs an integral handle portion 69 and manually operable handle 71 for the separate safety latch member 60, it will be realized that the operator, in addition to the above steps, in order to separate the latched members, will also grasp the portion 71 and will lift upwardly thereon, as the parts are shown in the drawings. This acti'on is effective to rotate the safety latch hook portion 62 about the pivot 68 and inwardly of the plunger toward non-latched position. Such upwardv movement of the handle 71 is effective also to lift the plunger and the member to which it is attached upwardly a distance sufficient to move the plunger completely outwardly through the aperture 10.

We claim: Y

l. In a hood latch structure, a latch plate, a keeper assembly-receiving aperture in said latch plate, a rst latch member pivotally mounted on said plateand having a latch engaging portion yieldingly urged into alignment with a portion of Said aperture, a plunger formed and adapted to penetrate said aperture, `a second latch member pivotally mounted on said plunger and extending outwardly therefrom and positioned to engage said latch engaging portion when said plunger penetrates said aperture, said plunger having a safety latch member pivotally mounted thereon and spaced forwardly thereon from said second latch member, said safety latch member having `a portion yieldingly urged outwardly fromsaid plunger toward a position to engage said latch engaging portion as said plunger 4traverses said aperture said aperture being dimensioned to permit free passage of said plunger and the second latch member and safety latch member in their extended positions, said irst latch member lbeing rotatable out of alignment with said portion of said aperture to permit said. free passage.

2. In a hood latch assembly, a plunger, a safety latch member pivotally mounted on the plunger and adiacen-,t the forward end of said plunger, yielding means on said plunger positioned to urge a portion of said safety latch member outwardly from said plunger, a first main latch member pivotally mounted on said plunger and a second yielding means positioned to urge a portion of said first main latch member outwardly from said plunger in substantial alignment with and rearwardly spaced from said safety latch member portion, a latch plate having an aperture therein of sufficient dimension to permit the passage therethrough of said plunger and said safety latch and rst main latch members without contact with said latch plate, and `a second main latch member pivotally mounted on said latch plate and having a portion yieldngly urged into alignment with a portion of said aperture in position to positively engage said first main latch member and said safety latch member.

3. The structure of claim 1 wherein said plunger comprises an elongated member having a side wall and an end wall, said end wall having a portion removed to permit the outward extension of a portion of said safety latch, said end wall having a portion constituting a stop means limiting rotation of said safety latch toward latch ing position, yielding means secured to said plunger and said safety latch and positioned to urge said safety latch toward said stop means.

4. A hood latch assembly comprising a latch plate, a keeper assembly-receiving aperture in said latch plate, a keeper lassembly comprising an elongated member having a safety latch pivotally mounted adjacent its forward end, yielding means secured to said keeper as sembly and to said safety latch and positioned to urge said safety latch toward latching position, said keeper assembly having an abutment portion constituting a stop meanslimiting said safety latch in its rotation toward latching position, said safety latch having a portion extending laterally outwardly from said keeper assembly in response to the urging of said yielding means, a first main latch pivotally mounted on said keeper assembly,

`a second yielding means secured to said keeper assembly and said main rst latch and positioned to urge said first main latch outwardly, laterally from said keeper assembly toward latching position, said safety latch and first main latch having portions extending laterally, outwardly from the same side of said keeper assembly, said aperture being dimensioned to permit free passage of said keeper as` sembly and said extended portions of said safety latch and said first main latch, a second main latch member pivotally mounted on said latch plate and having a portion yielding urged toward alignment with a portion of said aperture, said second main latch portion being held in vertical valignment with said extended portions of said first main latch and said safety latch in response to the urging of a third yielding means secured to said second main latch and said latch plate, said extended portions of said safety latch and said first main latch member each having a first edge surface inclined to the longitudinal axis of said keeper assembly and positioned for engagement with said second main latch portion to urge said first main latch and said safety latch inwardly of said keeper assembly as said keeper assembly penetrates said aperture, said extended portions of` said first main latch and said safety latch each having another edge portion positioned for latching engagement with said second main latch portion in response to retrograde movement of said keeper assembly.

5. The structure of claim 4 characterized by and including la pin fixed on said keeper assembly, an arcuate slot in said first main latch, said pin extending through said slot, said slot lying in a plane transversing the path of movement of said keeper assembly, said slot having a serrated edge positioned between said second main latch portion and said pin when said keeper Iassembly is in latch position, said first main latch being slidably mounted on said keeper assembly whereby unintended outward movement of said keeper assembly causes engagement of said serrated edge with said pin in response to the engagement of said second main latch portion with said tirs-t main latch.

6. A latch assembly for locking a pair of relatively movable plates together including a first plate having a keeper assembly aperture therein, a restraining member mounted ion the first plate having a covering portion adapted to overlie a part of the aperture in the restraining position and a handle for moving the covering portion into and out of overlying relationshipwith a part of the aperture, a keeper assembly mounted on the second plate, said assembly including a plunger adapted to pass through Ithe keeper assembly aperture when the restraining member is both in and out of alignment with the aperture, a first latching member rotatably mounted on the plunger first resilient positioning means mounted on the plunger i y which, in cooperation with first limit means, positions the first latching member normally generally transverse to the longitudinal axis of the plunger said first latching member passing unobstructedly through said aperture in all positions when the covering portion of the restraining member does not overlie the aperture and past the covering portion of the restraining member in engagement therewith in opposition to the first resilient positioning means when the covering portion overlies the aperture, a second latching member rotatably mounted on the plunger, second resilient positioning means mounted on the plunger which, in cooperation with second limit means on the plunger, positions the second latching member normally angularly disposed with respect to the longitudinal axis of the plunger and in positive engagement with the covering portion, said second latching member passing through said aperture and past the covering portion of the restraining member in opposition to the second resilient positioning means when the covering portion overlies the aperture, and cam means on the second latching member for maintaining the second latching member in latching engagement with the covering portion of the restraining member.

7. The latch assembly of claim 6 further characterized in that the first and second latching members are rotatably mounted on the same side of the plunger and on the same pivot, the second latching member extending farther outwardly from the plunger than does said first latching member, and further including guiding support means for insuring movement of the, second latching member in the same plane in all angular positions thereof with respect to the plunger.

8. The latch assembly of claim 6 further including cam means on the first latching member positioned to engage the covering portion of the restraining member as the said first latching member rotates in opposition to the first resilient positioning means to thereby insure yielding movement of the first latching member past the aperture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS y1,208,565 Johnson Dec. 12, 1916 2,427,511 Roethel Sept. 16, 1947 2,448,409 Barnes Aug. 3l, 1948 2,636,765 Dall Apr. 28, 1953 2,658,779 Dall Nov. 10, 1953 2,698,762 Dall Jan. 4, 1955 2,764,330 Dall Sept. 25, 1956 

